That recent Yahoo news article that listed agricultural degrees as some of the most “useless” college degrees created quite a firestorm in the ag community.
Many agribusiness leaders were quick to dispute the article’s claims. One of them—Shannon Latham of Latham Seed Company in Alexander, Iowa—says the author obviously didn’t understand how agriculture has changed in the past twenty years.
“The way agriculture has changes has opened up so many opportunities for people, whether it’s plant breeding, genetics, biotechnology, food science—even environmental science,” Latham says. “So a degree in agriculture is really diverse and it includes lots of different opportunities.”
Latham cites her own alma mater, Iowa State University, as an example.
“It has 98.2 percent placement rates—and I know if you’re not there in the fall when they have their ag career day, you may as well forget trying to get the cream of the crop students for your summer interns,” she says.
Latham says their company has more than doubled the size of its sales force in recent years.
AUDIO: Shannon Latham (3:45 MP3)
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